Alexandra Patsavas (‘Queen Charlotte’ music supervisor) on creating a ‘singular voice’ for ‘Bridgerton’ prequel [Exclusive Video Interview]
“They have a complicated, stunning story,” declares Emmy-nominated music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas about the love story at the center of “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.” The prequel series to the popular drama “Bridgerton” stars India Amarteifio as the young Charlotte as she navigates the early days of her marriage to King George III (Corey Mylchreest). In an exclusive video interview with Gold Derby (watch above), Patsavas defines the role of the music supervisor and discusses her process for shaping the sound of the Netflix drama.
Although the series is part of the “Bridgerton” universe, Patsavas knew that it was important for “Queen Charlotte” to establish it’s own unique sound. “It was necessary to define a through line to make sure that there was a relatability to ‘Bridgerton,'” she argues, “but also that ‘Queen Charlotte,’ and by extension Queen Charlotte and King George’s love story had a singular voice.”
As part of creating that voice, Patsavas and series composer Kris Bowers, drew from the music little-known composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George. Saint-George’s music was among the first by a composer of African descent to achieve widespread acclaim and popularity. The composer’s music was new to Patsavas, who used seven of his compositions in the series. “Clearly many people knew about Chevalier Saint-Georges, but I did not,” she says. “We know about the iconic greats of the time: Hayden and Mozart and Handel and Purcell, and Saint-Georges should be sitting amongst them.
The series also features the now-famous instrumental cover version of pop hits, but Patsavas had a specific direction in mind when it came to choosing the songs for “Queen Charlotte.” “For Charlotte, we felt like it was very important to tell her story by leaning into songs written, performed or made famous by women of color,” she says. Songs chosen include three hits by Beyonce as well as Whitney Houston‘s iconic take on Dolly Parton‘s “I Will Always Love You.”
Patsavas is particularly proud of the inclusion of the Alicia Keys classic “If I Ain’t Got You.” To celebrate the 2oth anniversary of its release, Keys and Bowers re-recording the song with a 70 piece orchestra comprised entirely by international women of color. “I did not realize it was the 20th anniversary [at the time],” confesses Patsavas. “We were just thinking about Charlotte and George’s love story. But to watch that group of women come together and for Alicia to reimagine her really iconic track in a ‘Queen Charlotte’ setting…it was just marvelous to see it come together.”
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